[Renal mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma combined with multiple bone metastasis: a case report and literature review]

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a rare sub-type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). It has been considered to be a kind of "indolent" tumor with low-grade fashion, weak invasive capacity and relatively favorable prognosis. However, in the current case, a 3.7 cm×2.8 cm spherical mass with contrast enhancement was found in the left kidney incidentally by computed tomography (CT) in a 60-year-old male patient. A lesion in the right humerus (2.1 cm×1.6 cm×3.1 cm) was found at the same time without any symptoms or sign of pathological fracture by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Further positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scan which was ordered immediately after admission suggested multiple bone destruction including skull, pelvis, sternum, right humerus and femur, left scapula, multiple vertebrae and libs. Pathological examination after radical nephrectomy and palliative resection with internal fixation of the lesion in the right humerus indicated that both renal (3.0 cm×3.0 cm×2.5 cm) and bone lesions were MTSCC with the features of high-grade ovoid epithelioid cells, cord-like spindle cells and mucinous matrix under light microscope. The diagnosis of renal MTSCC concurrent with multiple bone metastasis was made. This case report suggested the necessity of general evaluation, especially bone scan for possible distant metastasis, as MTSCC might present unexpected advanced behaviors without any orthopedic symptoms. The behavior of bone metastasis might be associated with male and elderly age. MTSCC has similar enhancement features to papillary RCC on CT scan. As results, attentions are needed to differentiate MTSCC from papillary RCC as they both tend to show lesser enhancement degrees than cortex. Rather than exhibiting a dedifferentiating appearance, the pathological characteristics of bone metastasis lesion were close to those of primary renal lesion. The reason of distant metastasis to the bone remained unclear, negative expression of cytokeratin (CK) 7 might be attributed to. Though immunotherapy, chemotherapy and target therapy could all be methods for systematic therapies, procedures to remove renal lesions and prevent skeletal related events are still highly recommended.

Superposition principle for the simultaneous optimization of collective responses

We study the dynamics of sets of independent systems, all of which are coupled to the same time-dependent external force. Using optimal control theory, we compute the most efficient temporal pulse shape for this force that can maximize simultaneously the collective response of these systems. This response can be a weighted sum of all amplitudes at the final interaction time. Remarkably, it turns out that for certain systems this optimal force for the collective response can be related to the individual forces that would optimize each system separately. We illustrate this superposition principle for the simultaneous optimization of collective responses with numerical and also analytical solutions for sets of damped linear and nonlinear oscillators. We also apply this principle to predict the optimal temporal profile of a laser pulse that can maximize the final macroscopic polarization (total dipole moment) of a set of quantum mechanical two-level atoms.

Genome engineering of Clostridium difficile using the CRISPR-Cas9 system

OBJECTIVES

Clostridium difficile is a notorious pathogenic species that can cause severe gastrointestinal infections in humans and animals. C. difficile infection (CDI) results in thousands of deaths worldwide every year. The elucidation of related mechanisms of CDI and exploration of potential therapeutic strategies are largely delayed due to the lack of efficient genetic engineering tools for C. difficile strains.

METHODS

Plasmids carrying the CRISPR-Cas9 system were constructed and transformed into C. difficile through conjugation. Mutants were identified using colony PCR with primers annealing to the regions flanking the target gene deletion/integration locus. Heat-survival assay was used to compare the sporulation frequency between the mutant with spo0A deletion and the wild type strain. The fluorescence in the mutant with the insertion of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was inspected under a fluorescent microscope.

RESULTS

An efficient genome editing tool was developed for C. difficile based on the CRISPR-Cas9 system. With this tool, spo0A was deleted with a 100% mutation efficiency. Conversely, an anaerobic GFP gene was successfully inserted into the C. difficile chromosome (with a mutation efficiency of 80%).

CONCLUSIONS

The developed CRISPR-Cas9-based genome engineering tool will facilitate functional genomic studies in C. difficile as well as the elucidation of mechanisms related to host-bacteria interaction and pathogenesis of CDI. This will be highly beneficial for the development of innovative strategies for CDI diagnostics and therapies.

IL-23 Activated γδ T Cells Affect Th17 Cells and Regulatory T Cells by Secreting IL-21 in Children with Primary Nephrotic Syndrome

This study (1) analysed the percentage of γδ T cells, γδ T cell subsets, Th17 cells and regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and (2) determined the role of IL-23 in primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) patients with active disease and in remission. Eighty-four patients with PNS and 51 healthy age-matched controls were included in this study. The percentage of γδ T cells, γδ T cell subsets, Th17 cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analysed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. PMBCs from PNS patients with active disease were cultured in the presence of IL-23, IL-23 and an IL-23 antagonist, or IL23 and an anti-IL-21 monoclonal antibody (mAb). The percentage of γδ T cells, IL-23R⁺ γδ T cells and IL-17⁺ γδ T cells were significantly increased in PNS patients with active disease. There was a positive correlation between the percentage of γδ T cells, IL-23R⁺ γδ T cells, IL-17⁺ γδ T cells and the Th17/Treg ratio. IL-23 increased the percentage of γδ T cells and Th17 cells and decreased the percentage of Treg cells in PBMCs isolated from PNS patients with active disease. Anti-IL-21 mAb reduced the percentage of γδ T cells and Th17 cells, but increased the percentage of Treg cells. γδ T cells, IL-17⁺ γδ T cells and IL-23R⁺ γδ T cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of paediatric PNS by modulating the balance of Th17/Treg cells. γδ T cells may cause an imbalance in Th17/Treg cells by secreting IL-21 in the presence of IL-23.

Canted magnetic ground state of quarter-doped manganites R 0.75Ca0.25MnO3 (R = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er)

Polycrystalline samples of the quarter-doped manganites R _0.75Ca_0.25MnO₃ (R  =  Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er) were studied by x-ray diffraction and AC/DC susceptibility measurements. All five samples are orthorhombic and exhibit similar magnetic properties: enhanced ferromagnetism below T ₁ (∼80 K) and a spin glass (SG) state below T _SG (∼30 K). With increasing R ³⁺ ionic size, both T ₁ and T _SG generally increase. The single crystal neutron diffraction results on Tb_0.75Ca_0.25MnO₃ revealed that the SG state is mainly composed of a short-range ordered version of a novel canted (i.e. noncollinear) antiferromagnetic spin state. Furthermore, calculations based on the double exchange model for quarter-doped manganites reveal that this new magnetic phase provides a transition state between the ferromagnetic state and the theoretically predicted spin-orthogonal stripe phase.

Abstract P4-07-05: MicroRNA-27b mediates deregulation of energy metabolism in breast cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, non-coding RNA which participate in gene regulation by targeted silencing of specific mRNA transcripts. Recently, it has become clear that dysfunctional miRNA expression is an important contributor to the deregulation of key signaling pathways underlying carcinogenesis. MicroRNA-27b is an example of one such pro-oncogenic miRNA, and correspondingly, its expression has been found to be upregulated in breast cancer cells and tissues. In this regard, several targets of miR-27b have previously been verified, and implicate miR-27b in multiple neoplastic processes including migration, invasion and metastasis. In order to enable future development of miRNA-based cancer therapies, the putative targets of each miRNA must be mapped more comprehensively. Such awareness is necessary in order to make informed choices regarding whether a miRNA-based therapy is likely to be effective and what side-effects should be anticipated. Therefore, this project seeks to further establish the role of miR-27b in the context of breast cancer, specifically by identifying novel target transcripts under its control. Using target prediction algorithms and breast cancer cell culture models, initial evidence has implicated Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Protein X (PDHX) to be a probable target. As a structural component of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex, the role of PDHX in linking the end products of glycolytic reactions with subsequent oxidative phosphorylation pathways is indispensable. However, a hallmark of cancer cell metabolism is the propensity to consume glucose aerobically, which liberates additional carbon skeletons for use in biosynthetic reactions that are crucial for tumor growth. In this way, miR-27b overexpression appears to sever the link between glycolysis and subsequent catabolic pathways, thus conferring a pro-growth advantage to the cancer cells. Expression profiling of PDHX using both breast cancer cell lines and human breast tissues (which overexpress miR-27b) reveal that PDHX levels are indeed significantly reduced, thus supporting the notion that miR-27b alters cancer cell metabolism specifically by targeting this gene in breast cancer. Improving the current understanding of miR-27b's functions will lay the necessary ground work to evaluate its potential as a novel target for cancer therapy. Similarly, the awareness of the expression status of miR-27b and its targets in breast cancer tumors will further efforts to find suitable miRNA tissue biomarkers to enhance screening and prognosis. In this way, microRNA-based approaches offer the distinct potential to improve cancer detection as well as treatment, making them a dynamic method to improve management of breast cancer patients in the future.

Citation Format: Eastlack SC, Alahari SK, Dong S, Cole JT. MicroRNA-27b mediates deregulation of energy metabolism in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-07-05.

Effect of further-neighbor interactions on the magnetization behaviors of the Ising model on a triangular lattice

In this work, we study the magnetization behaviors of the classical Ising model on the triangular lattice using Monte Carlo simulations, and pay particular attention to the effect of further-neighbor interactions. Several fascinating spin states are identified to be stabilized in certain magnetic field regions, respectively, resulting in the magnetization plateaus at 2/3, 5/7, 7/9 and 5/6 of the saturation magnetization M S, in addition to the well-known plateaus at 0, 1/3 and 1/2 of M S. The stabilization of these interesting orders can be understood as the consequence of the competition between Zeeman energy and exchange energy.

Dynamics of homogeneous shear turbulence: A key role of the nonlinear transverse cascade in the bypass concept

To understand the mechanism of the self-sustenance of subcritical turbulence in spectrally stable (constant) shear flows, we performed direct numerical simulations of homogeneous shear turbulence for different aspect ratios of the flow domain with subsequent analysis of the dynamical processes in spectral or Fourier space. There are no exponentially growing modes in such flows and the turbulence is energetically supported only by the linear growth of Fourier harmonics of perturbations due to the shear flow non-normality. This non-normality-induced growth, also known as nonmodal growth, is anisotropic in spectral space, which, in turn, leads to anisotropy of nonlinear processes in this space. As a result, a transverse (angular) redistribution of harmonics in Fourier space is the main nonlinear process in these flows, rather than direct or inverse cascades. We refer to this type of nonlinear redistribution as the nonlinear transverse cascade. It is demonstrated that the turbulence is sustained by a subtle interplay between the linear nonmodal growth and the nonlinear transverse cascade. This course of events reliably exemplifies a well-known bypass scenario of subcritical turbulence in spectrally stable shear flows. These two basic processes mainly operate at large length scales, comparable to the domain size. Therefore, this central, small wave number area of Fourier space is crucial in the self-sustenance; we defined its size and labeled it as the vital area of turbulence. Outside the vital area, the nonmodal growth and the transverse cascade are of secondary importance: Fourier harmonics are transferred to dissipative scales by the nonlinear direct cascade. Although the cascades and the self-sustaining process of turbulence are qualitatively the same at different aspect ratios, the number of harmonics actively participating in this process (i.e., the harmonics whose energies grow more than 10% of the maximum spectral energy at least once during evolution) varies, but always remains quite large (equal to 36, 86, and 209) in the considered here three aspect ratios. This implies that the self-sustenance of subcritical turbulence cannot be described by low-order models.

Xanthotoxin prevents bone loss in ovariectomized mice through the inhibition of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis

Xanthotoxin (XAT) is extracted from the seeds of Ammi majus. Here, we reported that XAT has an inhibitory effect on osteoclastogenesis in vitro through the suppression of both receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced ROS generation and Ca(2+) oscillations. In vivo studies showed that XAT treatment decreases the osteoclast number, prevents bone loss, and restores bone strength in ovariectomized mice.

INTRODUCTION

Excessive osteoclast formation and the resultant increase in bone resorption activity are key pathogenic factors of osteoporosis. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of XAT, a natural furanocoumarin, on the RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis in vitro and on ovariectomy-mediated bone loss in vivo.

METHODS

Cytotoxicity of XAT was evaluated using bone marrow macrophages (BMMs). Osteoclast differentiation, formation, and fusion were assessed using the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) stain, the actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion (FAK) stain, and the fusion assay, respectively. Osteoclastic bone resorption was evaluated using the pit formation assay. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and removal were evaluated using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). Ca(2+) oscillations and their downstream signaling targets were then detected. The ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model was adopted for our in vivo studies.

RESULTS

In vitro assays revealed that XAT inhibited the differentiation, formation, fusion, and bone resorption activity of osteoclasts. The inhibitory effect of XAT on osteoclastogenesis was associated with decreased intracellular ROS generation. XAT treatment also suppressed RANKL-induced Ca(2+) oscillations and the activation of the resultant downstream calcium-CaMKK/PYK2 signaling. Through these two mechanisms, XAT downregulated the key osteoclastogenic factors nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 (NFATc1) and c-FOS. Our in vivo studies showed that XAT treatment decreases the osteoclast number, prevents bone loss, rescues bone microarchitecture, and restores bone strength in OVX mice.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that XAT is protective against ovariectomy-mediated bone loss through the inhibition of RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis. Therefore, XAT may be considered to be a new therapeutic candidate for treating osteoporosis.

Gene expressions and metabolomic research on the effects of polyphenols from the involucres of Castanea mollissima Blume on heat-stressed broilers chicks

To study the effects of polyphenolic extract from involucres of Castanea mollissima Blume ( PICB: ), a novel approach using gene expression by real time polymerase chain reaction ( REAL-TIME PCR: ) coupled with metabolomic profiling technique was established to explain the mechanism of PICB on heat-stressed broiler chicks. Four thousand 28-day-old male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly assigned to 5 groups (4 replicates / group, 20 chicks / replicate), in which group 1 was normal control group fed with basic ration; groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were fed with the basic ration with a supplementation of 0.2% Vitamin C ( VC: ), or 0.2%, 0.3%, or 0.4% of PICB respectively. After 1 wk of adaptation, heat stress was applied for 7 consecutive days. On d 3 and d 7 of heat stress, the chicks were sacrificed and sampled. The mRNA expression of heat stress protein 70 (HSP70), glutathione peroxidase ( GSH-PX: ), ornithine decarboxylase ( ODC: ), epidermal growth factor ( EGF: ) and epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR: ) were detected by real-time PCR using samples from jejunum mucosa. The serum and jejunum mucosa metabolomic profiles of PICB group showing best antioxidative effects and control group at d 3 were studied using the method of the gas chromatography - time of flight mass spectrometry ( GT-TOF-MS: ), followed by principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminate analysis. Potential biomarkers were found using Student's t-test. The results showed mRNA expressions of HSP70, GSH-Px, ODC, EGF, and EGFR were altered by the supplementation of PICB. PICB exhibited antioxidative and growth promoting effects, and 0.3% PICB supplementation level exhibited the best. Three metabolites in the serum and 5 in the jejunum mucosa were identified as potential biomarkers. They were considered to be in accordance with antioxidative and growth promoting effects of PICB, which involved in the energy metabolism (sorbitol, palmitic acid), carbohydrate metabolism, amino acids metabolism (serine, L-ornithine), glutathione metabolism (glutamate, L-ornithine), GnRH signaling pathway (inositol), etc. These findings provided novel insights into our understanding of molecular mechanism of PICB effects on heat-stressed chicks.

A Rotational Pressure-Correction Scheme for Incompressible Two-Phase Flows with Open Boundaries

Two-phase outflows refer to situations where the interface formed between two immiscible incompressible fluids passes through open portions of the domain boundary. We present several new forms of open boundary conditions for two-phase outflow simulations within the phase field framework, as well as a rotational pressure correction based algorithm for numerically treating these open boundary conditions. Our algorithm gives rise to linear algebraic systems for the velocity and the pressure that involve only constant and time-independent coefficient matrices after discretization, despite the variable density and variable viscosity of the two-phase mixture. By comparing simulation results with theory and the experimental data, we show that the method produces physically accurate results. We also present numerical experiments to demonstrate the long-term stability of the method in situations where large density contrast, large viscosity contrast, and backflows occur at the two-phase open boundaries.

WITHDRAWN: Natural Killer Cell Activating Receptor NKG2D Is Involved in the Immunosuppressant Effect of Mycophenolate Mofetil and Infection of Hepatitis B Virus

In this study we investigated whether mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a new immunosuppressant, and its metabolite mycophenolic acid (MPA) influence the activity of liver resident natural killer (NK) cells, resulting in increased susceptibility to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We isolated the hepatic NK cells of C57BL/6 and C57BL/6JTgN (A1b1HBV) 44Bri) transgenic mice administered MMF in the presence or absence of interleukin (IL)-15, or incubated isolated hepatic NK cells in the presence or absence of MPA and used RT-PCR, immunolabeling to assess the expression of NK receptors Ly49A, NKG2A and NKG2D, and cytokine ELISA and [(3)H]-TdR-release assay to assess the activation and cytotoxic capacity of NK cells. After treatment of MMF in the presence or absence of IL-15, HBsAg titer was also measured in C57BL/6JTgN (A1b1HBV) 44Bri) transgenic mice. After both MPA and MMF treatments, NK cytotoxicity was reduced, NKG2D and Ly49A expression was down-regulated, but NKG2A was up-regulated. Down-regulation of NKG2D could be ameliorated by IL-15, and in HBV-transgenic mice, MMF treatment impaired NK cell activity, but did not influence virus replication, whereas IL-15 treatment depressed HBsAg titer. MPA and MMF mediate down-regulation of NKG2D in vitro and vivo, restricting the cytotoxic capacity of NK cells. Regulation of NKG2D may be important in the effect of immunosuppressant on NK cell activity and involved in HBV infection.

[Clinical outcomes of early repair for open orbital fracture]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical outcomes following early repair for orbital fracture and soft tissue simultaneously for open orbital fractures.

METHODS

Retrospective clinical study. This study comprised of 19 patients(20 eyes) with open orbital fracture who underwent surgery within 48 hours in the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University between August 2011 and August 2014. The wounds were evaluated at the same time and the surgical debridement was done. The surgical exposure was achieved through direct approach and auxiliary cosmetic incisions. Titanium mesh and plate was used for orbital reconstruction. Local flaps or island flaps were used for soft tissue repair. With the post-operative CT scan, the condition of the soft tissue which was herniated, the orbital rim and orbital wall were observed. The measurement of the exophthalmos of both eyes was performed using Hertel exophthalmometer. Compared with the intact eye, the globe displacement (upward or downward) of the reconstructed eye was measured. The follow up duration was 12-24 months. The eye movement, diplopia, restriction of mouth opening, depression of midface, the condition of soft tissue and scar as well as post-operative complications were recorded. Comparison of the reconstructed eye's globe displacement before and after operation were analyzed with wilcoxon signed ranks test. Comparison of the exophthalmos of the reconstructed eye relative to the intact eye were analyzed with t-paired test.

RESULTS

In all 19 cases (20 eyes), fractures were anatomically reconstructed, and no cases of infection, titanium mesh and plate migration and rejection occured during the follow-up. Seven cases had eyeball hypoglobus with median 3.0 mm (min 2.0 mm, max 4.0 mm) pre-operatively. The Reconstructed eye globe were corrected in 6 cases and 1 case had residual hypoglobus of 1.0 mm ,median 0.0 mm (min 0.0 mm, max 1.0 mm). The amount of the eye globe displacement between pre-and post-operation was statistically significant(z=-2.40, P<0.05). Enophthalmos was corrected in 16 cases (the mean of posterior globe displacement in reconstructed orbit relative to intact orbit was less than or equal to 2.0mm), but in 2 patients the residual enophthalmos was 3.0 mm. The difference of the exophthalmos of both eyes was not obvious (t=-0.46,P>0.05). Among 20 eyes, 16 patients had restrictive eye movement. After 12 months follow-up, 13 eyes with restrictive eye movement were corrected while the other 3 showed improvement. Eight patients of restriction of mouth opening or midface depression were corrected and no infection complications were noted. There was no flap necrosis in 13 patients of soft tissue defect.

CONCLUSION

Surgical treatment of open orbital fractures with simultaneous repair of orbital fracture and soft tissue within 48 hours after trauma could correct enophthalmos, hypoglobus and eye movement function effectively and improve periorbital aesthetics. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 273-277).

Dihydroartemisinin attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone loss via the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a widely used antimalarial drug isolated from the plant Artemisia annua. Recent studies suggested that DHA has antitumor effects utilizing its reactive oxygen species (ROS) yielding mechanism. Here, we reported that DHA is inhibitory on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced osteoclast (OC) differentiation, fusion and bone-resorption activity in vitro. Intracellular ROS detection revealed that DHA could remarkably increase ROS accumulation during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, cell apoptosis was also increased by DHA treatment. We found that DHA-activated caspase-3 increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. Meanwhile, the translocation of apoptotic inducing factor (AIF) and the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol were observed, indicating that ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction is crucial in DHA-induced apoptosis during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. In vivo study showed that DHA treatment decreased OC number, prevents bone loss, rescues bone microarchitecture and restores bone strength in LPS-induced bone-loss mouse model. Together, our findings indicate that DHA is protective against LPS-induced bone loss through apoptosis induction of osteoclasts via ROS accumulation and the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway. Therefore, DHA may be considered as a new therapeutic candidate for treating inflammatory bone loss.

Role of further-neighbor interactions in modulating the critical behavior of the Ising model with frustration

In this work, we investigate the phase transitions and critical behaviors of the frustrated J(1)-J(2)-J(3) Ising model on the square lattice using Monte Carlo simulations, and particular attention goes to the effect of the second-next-nearest-neighbor interaction J(3) on the phase transition from a disordered state to the single stripe antiferromagnetic state. A continuous Ashkin-Teller-like transition behavior in a certain range of J(3) is identified, while the four-state Potts-critical end point [J(3)/J(1)](C) is estimated based on the analytic method reported in earlier work [Jin, Sen, and Sandvik, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 045702 (2012)]. It is suggested that the interaction J(3) can tune the transition temperature and in turn modulate the critical behaviors of the frustrated model. Furthermore, it is revealed that an antiferromagnetic J(3) can stabilize the staggered dimer state via a phase transition of strong first-order character.